Why Passive Sales Strategies Aren’t Working

We’ve all heard that one strategy for increasing visibility of our products is to leave look books/flyers in different places (hair salons, doctors’ offices, coffee shops), and this is a great passive sales strategy.

What’s the difference between a passive and an active sales strategy? Passive strategies involve “dropping and going” – by that I mean that there is no human (you) there to talk about your products.

Leaving catalogs would be considered a passive sales strategy, and if you think about it, many of our social media posts would be considered a passive sales strategy too. In posting on social media, we’re really “posting and going,” meaning that not everyone we want to see it will see it, and they may scroll past it without activity because there’s nobody there to say, “Hey, Jennifer, LOOK AT THIS. I think you would love this particular product.”

         Passive sales strategies may help us to build brand recognition in the community (“Oh I have now heard of XYZ company”), but they may not lead to sales because there is no human interaction. Let me give you two quick examples.

Wednesday my father had in-patient surgery. I was on my way to pick my parents and take them to the hospital, so I quickly grabbed two catalogs (that I always have at the ready with my contact info) and placed them on the tables in the waiting room when patients signed in. I didn’t have a chance to make the catalogs more personal because I was running and it was a last minute idea. I observed a woman pick up a catalog, flip through it, and put it back down. It was an experiment to see what she would do. She did nothing – she didn’t take down my contact information, she didn’t take a card out of the book, she simply put it down.

         So…there’s that. Nothing happened. Now that doesn’t mean that nobody will ever pick up my book and find some things they love and take down my contact information order from my site. But it’s less likely than if there is a human attached to that book. I have had friends who booked parties off of a catalog drop, but in order to do that we need to be way more active (more about that later).

What about social media?

I posted an image of a myriad of earrings available and that the earrings were currently 25% off. I posted my link. Again, an experiment to see what happens (and example for this blog post). I boosted the post on Facebook for $5. Four hundred thirty eight people saw it. Twenty five liked it. 4 commented on it. One new like for my business page. Zero sales were made.

         Again, this is an example of a passive “drop and go” sale strategy. While they may be slightly useful, it’s a long shot. It’s a hope. And you can’t pin all your hopes for building your business on passive sales strategies. If you think you can, you’ve wasted your start up money. It may not seem nice, but it’s the truth. Passive sellers don’t make money – active sellers do.

Turning Passive to Active

         Active sales strategies are where we intentionally interact with a potential customer – we are active in the sales process. While both should be part of our sales arsenal, which do you think is going to bring you more return on investment (ROI)? Exactly – active strategies.

         When you’re leaving your look books or information at places, make it visually enticing. Include information about yourself such as a card with your picture on it. Use little sticky arrows to point out things you want customers to be drawn to. Use colorful signage on the front of your book. Make it visually enticing. Include a note in the front thanking people for looking through your book and telling them your “why.” Visually indicate your own personal favorite items.

         What about with social media? How can you best turn a passive post into an active post? Ask customers to use your website to post their favorite product and COMMENT BACK to them. Don’t simply see and like the comments. “I love that too Marsha – what would you wear that with?” “That’s a great choice Jana – let’s figure out which color foundation would look best for your skin tone. I’ll message you.” “That is currently 25% off – I’ll message you and can help you place an order!” Here you’re being active rather than simply throwing something up on social media and hoping it sticks.

The Best Active Sales Strategies

         As your sponsor/mentor/company has probably told you, home parties are where the sales are at. Now, after reading this post, you may understand why. There’s action on your part – you’re there presenting your product. There’s interaction with customers. They are seeing YOU as a human with a face and a personality and a story.

There’s also an “expectation” – if you go to a home party as a customer, it’s as if there’s this unspoken expectation that you will buy something. You, as a customer, feel obligated. I have had party attendees that came for the wine and friendship apologize to me for not buying anything. Here’s my response: “Jamie, I’m just glad that I was able to meet you. I’ve loved our conversations. And I know that if you ever need a gift, you know where I am. Tell your jewelry loving friends about me, and I’ll pour you some more wine.”

Relationship building doesn’t happen in passive sales strategies. It just doesn’t. And that’s where the building of lifelong customers starts – in the relationship.

         Your company may offer to send your customers a group email telling them about a promotion, and that’s great – the more visibility a promotion has, the better it will do. But on your end you want to be active about it (because the promo email is passive). Think about your customers/potential customers and the promo/new product launch you have going on. Who might be most interested in it? Contact them personally. Get on the phone (the phone?! Who does that? YOU DO). When you call don’t just “go for the sale.” Remember, relationships. How was their holiday? What did their 2-year-old think of Santa? How was their recent trip? During the conversation, find a way to work in your reason for your call.

         Customer: “Girl, I am STILL Christmas shopping! I have been so busy I haven’t been able to get out!”         You: “Who do you still have to shop for? Maybe I can help!”         Customer: “My sister, my aunt, and my Mom are still on my list.”         You: “What are they into? I could send you some possible pieces and we could see if we could get it all done for you. We have free 2-day shipping with a $125 purchase right now if that could help – it would be there by Christmas and you could drop it in a gift bag and voila, done!”

By listening, asking questions, and allowing the customer to do most of the talking, you’re showing them that they are important to you, not the sale. Because nobody wants to be sold to (I mean seriously, do you? Think about those people at the mall in the kiosks – you know they’re selling – and you avoid them).

So how can you turn your passive strategies into active strategies? How can you focus on active strategies instead of passive ones to increase your ROI?

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